Huntsville Museum of Art
Encyclopedia
Huntsville Museum of Art is a museum
located in Huntsville
, Alabama
. It was originally established by city Ordinance No. 70-134, on August 13, 1970, which established the Museum Board of the City of Huntsville. The museum held its first exhibition in 1973 and moved to its first permanent facility at the Von Braun Center
in 1975. The museum moved to its present building at Big Spring Park
in March 1998.
The museum building is 52000 square feet (4,831 m²) with over 15000 square feet (1,393.5 m²) of gallery space. The museum is a member of the North American Reciprocal Museums
program.
They are divided into two collections: First American art and regional artists, and the other arts from Asia, Africa and Europe, which influenced these artists. The growth of the collection was supported by private donations and various foundations.
Visitors can enjoy graphic works by James McNeill Whistler
, John French Sloan
, Joseph Stella
, Robert Rauschenberg
and Andy Warhol
. Among artists with roots in Alabama, which works are presented in collection of the Huntsville Museum of Art are Richmond Burton, Nall Hollis, David Parrish and Stephen Rolfe Powell
. There is also the Southern photography collection with over 200 works. The museum has also acquired works which are of particular importance for Huntsville and its scientific community. For example, a group of water color painted pictures of Huntsville and the Marshall Space Flight Center
by Renato Moncini, who worked for NASA
as an illustrator in the Apollo program. Another work is the Moonwalk by Andy Warhol
. There are also European and Japanese prints, Chinese glassware and African sculptures. Museum is famous for it collection of animal figures made from silver, the largest in the world, and the Italian jewelry produced by Gianmaria Buccellati.
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
located in Huntsville
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city located primarily in Madison County in the central part of the far northern region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County. The city extends west into neighboring Limestone County. Huntsville's population was 180,105 as of the 2010 Census....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. It was originally established by city Ordinance No. 70-134, on August 13, 1970, which established the Museum Board of the City of Huntsville. The museum held its first exhibition in 1973 and moved to its first permanent facility at the Von Braun Center
Von Braun Center
The Von Braun Center , known as the Von Braun Civic Center until 1997, is a multi-purpose indoor arena, meeting, and performing arts complex, with a maximum arena seating capacity of 10,000, located in Huntsville, Alabama...
in 1975. The museum moved to its present building at Big Spring Park
Big Spring Park (Huntsville, Alabama)
Big Spring International Park is located in downtown Huntsville, Alabama. The park is built around its namesake "Big Spring", the original water source that the city of Huntsville was built around...
in March 1998.
The museum building is 52000 square feet (4,831 m²) with over 15000 square feet (1,393.5 m²) of gallery space. The museum is a member of the North American Reciprocal Museums
North American Reciprocal Museums
The North American Reciprocal Museums program is a consortium of museums in the United States, Canada, Bermuda, El Salvador and Mexico which offers benefits to museum membership holders in more than 530 institutions...
program.
Collection
The museum's permanent collection has nearly 3000 items.They are divided into two collections: First American art and regional artists, and the other arts from Asia, Africa and Europe, which influenced these artists. The growth of the collection was supported by private donations and various foundations.
Visitors can enjoy graphic works by James McNeill Whistler
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
, John French Sloan
John French Sloan
John French Sloan was an American artist. As a member of The Eight, he became a leading figure in the Ashcan School of realist artists. He was known for his urban genre painting and ability to capture the essence of neighborhood life in New York City, often through his window...
, Joseph Stella
Joseph Stella
Joseph Stella was an Italian-born, American Futurist painter best known for his depictions of industrial America. He is associated with the American Precisionism movement of the 1910s-1940s....
, Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg
Robert Rauschenberg was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Rauschenberg is well-known for his "Combines" of the 1950s, in which non-traditional materials and objects were employed in innovative combinations...
and Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
. Among artists with roots in Alabama, which works are presented in collection of the Huntsville Museum of Art are Richmond Burton, Nall Hollis, David Parrish and Stephen Rolfe Powell
Stephen Rolfe Powell
Stephen Rolfe Powell was born in 1951 in Birmingham, Alabama. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Painting and Ceramics at Centre College, Powell went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in Ceramics at Louisiana State University. It was while at LSU, between 1980 and 1983, that Powell had his first...
. There is also the Southern photography collection with over 200 works. The museum has also acquired works which are of particular importance for Huntsville and its scientific community. For example, a group of water color painted pictures of Huntsville and the Marshall Space Flight Center
Marshall Space Flight Center
The George C. Marshall Space Flight Center is the U.S. government's civilian rocketry and spacecraft propulsion research center. The largest center of NASA, MSFC's first mission was developing the Saturn launch vehicles for the Apollo moon program...
by Renato Moncini, who worked for NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
as an illustrator in the Apollo program. Another work is the Moonwalk by Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
. There are also European and Japanese prints, Chinese glassware and African sculptures. Museum is famous for it collection of animal figures made from silver, the largest in the world, and the Italian jewelry produced by Gianmaria Buccellati.